<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<recipeml version="0.5">
  <recipe>
    <head>
      <title>1-2-3-4 Cake By James Beard</title>
      <categories>
        <cat>Cakes</cat></categories>
      <yield>12</yield></head>
    <ingredients>
      <ing-div>
        <title>FOR THREE 9X1/2 INCH DEEP PA</title>
        <ing>
          <amt>
            <qty>1</qty>
            <unit>tablespoon</unit></amt>
          <item>Butter; softened</item></ing>
        <ing>
          <amt>
            <qty>2</qty>
            <unit>tablespoons</unit></amt>
          <item>Flour</item></ing></ing-div>
      <ing-div>
        <title>FOR THE CAKE</title>
        <ing>
          <amt>
            <qty>3</qty>
            <unit>cups</unit></amt>
          <item>Cake Flour; sifted *Note:1</item></ing>
        <ing>
          <amt>
            <qty>4</qty>
            <unit>teaspoons</unit></amt>
          <item>Baking powder; Double-</item></ing>
        <ing>
          <amt>
            <qty/>
            <unit/></amt>
          <item>Acting</item></ing>
        <ing>
          <amt>
            <qty>1/2</qty>
            <unit>teaspoons</unit></amt>
          <item>Salt</item></ing>
        <ing>
          <amt>
            <qty>8</qty>
            <unit>ounces</unit></amt>
          <item>Butter; unsalted (2 sticks) at room temperature</item></ing>
        <ing>
          <amt>
            <qty>2</qty>
            <unit>cups</unit></amt>
          <item>Sugar; granulated</item></ing>
        <ing>
          <amt>
            <qty>4</qty>
            <unit>medium</unit></amt>
          <item>Eggs; at room temperature</item></ing>
        <ing>
          <amt>
            <qty>1</qty>
            <unit>cup</unit></amt>
          <item>Milk; at room temperature</item></ing>
        <ing>
          <amt>
            <qty>1 1/2</qty>
            <unit>teaspoons</unit></amt>
          <item>Vanilla extract (or 1 tspn)</item></ing></ing-div>
      <ing-div>
        <title>FOR THE FILLING AND TOPPING</title>
        <ing>
          <amt>
            <qty>3/4</qty>
            <unit>cups</unit></amt>
          <item>Orange juice; strained</item></ing>
        <ing>
          <amt>
            <qty>2</qty>
            <unit>tablespoons</unit></amt>
          <item>Lemon juice</item></ing>
        <ing>
          <amt>
            <qty>3/4</qty>
            <unit>cups</unit></amt>
          <item>Sugar; granulated</item></ing>
        <ing>
          <amt>
            <qty>1</qty>
            <unit>tablespoon</unit></amt>
          <item>Orange rind; finely grated</item></ing></ing-div></ingredients>
    <directions>
      <step>  James Beard's 1-2-3-4 Layer Cake; Uses three 9x1/2 inch deep cake pans.
  Makes: One 3-layered cake; Serves 12 depending on thickness of slices.
  *Note:1. If you can't find cake flour, the same amount of All-purpose flour
  can be substituted. * Directions * Preheat the oven to 350dF. Using your
  hands, butter the bottom and sides of all 3 layer-cake pans with softened
  butter; sprinkle flour inside, then shake pans so you get a thin coating on
  the butter. Tip out any excess! Now to sift your flour. Lay a large piece
  of waxed paper on a board, put a dry measuring cup in the center, hold a
  sifter directly over it, scoop cake flour from the package into the sifter,
  and sift the flour directly into the cup. When the cup is full, draw the
  back of a knife blade lightly across the top of the cup (don't shake the
  flour down, or it will become dense) and then tip the measured flour into a
  mixing bowl. Repeat with the other 2 cups of flour (you can put any flour
  that spilled onto the waxed paper back in the sifter). When you have 3 cups
  of sifted flour in the bowl, put the baking powder and salt in the sifter,
  holding it over the mixing bowl, and sift it over the flour. Then, still
  using your hands, mix the baking powder and salt lightly with the flour.
  Next, put the butter into a second, large mixing bowl. If it is very firm
  (it shouldn't be, if you have left it out of the fridge), squeeze it
  through your fingers until it softens up. When it is soft enough to work,
  form your right hand into a big fork, as it were, and cream the butter.
  This means that you beat it firmly and quickly with your hand, beating and
  aerating it, until it becomes light, creamy and fluffy. Then whirl your
  fingers around like a whisk so the butter forms a circle in the bowl.
  Gradually cream the 2 cups of sugar into the butter with the same fork-like
  motion, beating until the mixture is very light and fluffy. As the sugar
  blends in it will change the color of the butter to a much lighter color,
  almost white. Now wash and dry your hands thoroughly. Separate the eggs as
  you would for a souffle', letting the whites slip though slightly parted
  fingers into a small bowl and dropping the yokes into a second, larger
  bowl. Beat the yokes for a few minutes with a whisk until they are well
  blended. Then, again with your hand, beat them very thoroughly into the
  butter-sugar mixture. Now beat in the milk alternately with the sifted
  flour -- first one, then the other -- this time keeping your fingers close
  together as if your hand were a wooden spatula. Beat, beat, beat until the
  batter is well mixed, then add the vanilla and beat that in for 1 or 2
  minutes. Put the egg whites in your beating bowl and beat them with a large
  whisk or and electric hand beater until they mount first to soft, drooping
  peaks and then to firm, glossy peaks. Do not over beat so that they are
  stiff and dry! Tip the beaten whites onto the cake batter and fold them in
  with your hand. Slightly cup your hand and use the side like a spatula to
  cut down through the whites and batter to the bottom of the bowl and then
  flop them over with your cupped hand, rotating the bowl with your other
  hand as you do so ~- exactly the technique used when folding egg whites
  into a souffle mixture with a rubber spatula. Repeat this very lightly and
  quickly until the whites and batter are thoroughly folded and blended. Once
  you have mastered this hand technique you can use it for souffles. Again
  using your hand like a spatula, pour and scrape the batter into three
  prepared pans, dividing it equally between them. Give the filled pans a
  little knock on the countertop to level the batter. Put the 3 pans in the
  center of the oven, or, if you have to use more than 1 rack, stagger them
  on the 2 middle racks of the oven so they do not overlap. Bake for 25
  minutes, then touch the center of each cake lightly with your fingertip. If
  it springs back, it is done. Remove the pans and put them on wire cake
  rakes to cool for a few minutes, then loosen the layers by running the flat
  of a knife blade around the sides of the pans, put a rack on top of each
  pan, and invert so the cake comes out onto the rack, top side down. Then
  reverse the layers so they are top side up. For filling and icing, SEE:
  1-2-3-4 Filling and Icing recipe.
 
</step></directions></recipe></recipeml>
